


The Year I Made an Unexpected Friend

by CasualObsessions



Series: Hogwarts: Class of 2016 [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Canon Compliant, Eventual Romance, F/M, Forgive Me I am Terrible to my OCs, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Past Child Abuse, Polyamory, Slow Build, general mischief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-28 01:20:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10820736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CasualObsessions/pseuds/CasualObsessions
Summary: Corvus Carrow was sorted into Slytherin faster than you could say Malfoy. His family is pleased. But being a Slytherin so soon after the fall of Voldemort isn't easy. Especially when your family is the one remembered for torturing first years. Corvus finds himself scorned by nearly everyone. Except a lone Hufflepuff, who welcomes him into the fold.





	1. The Sorting Ceremony

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to apologize in advance, this fanfic is not going to be regularly updated. I am taking my first steps into the glory of adulthood, for me that means I'll be working, starting college soon, as well as writing an original work in my spare time. I decided to start this, primarily because I've been meaning to for the past ten years. Please forgive me. T_T

"Come along, child." My mother dragged me by the wrist through the shops of Diagon Alley. We'd already gathered most of the things I needed, but I still had to find a wand and, I hoped, a pet. My mother hustled me in through the door of Ollivanders. A middle aged man was sitting behind the counter. Mrs. Carrow cleared her throat angrily. He looked up at them and set aside the wand he was working on. He seemed to recognize my mother, as his smile was thin lipped and cold. I couldn’t blame him. Selena Carrow was a cruel woman. It was apparent in her every gesture, and seemed to hang about her like a dismal cloud. My father, Amycus, had been shipped off to Azkaban long before I was born. My mother never let me forget it.

“Well?” She snapped. “Do you job! Fetch my son a wand!”

The man stood. “Certainly, madam.” The man hustled into a dark corner of the shop, and returned with several boxes. I noted the almost imperceptible curl of his lip as he handed me one of them. He didn’t want his wands in my hands. 

I turned away from my mother and the shopkeeper, and waved the wand. A lamp exploded. I jumped. “I’m sorry!”

“Nevermind that!” My mother insisted. She waved a hand, urging me to try another wand. “I don’t have all day, you know!”

I nodded and picked up a second wand. I waved it, and several books flew off a nearby shelf, pages began tearing themselves out of the books, and I dropped the wand, horrified. “Sorry!” I said again.

The man hurried to pluck the wand from the floor and replace it in the box. My mother flapped her hands again, and I picked up the third wand. Fearfully, I flicked it at the floor. The floorboard cracked. I worried the wand in my hands, and replaced it in it’s box. “I’m sorry.” I murmured.

Upon hearing me say this for the third time, the wandmaker gave me a quizzical look. “Don’t be, I’m afraid I may have made some assumptions of your character that I shouldn’t have made. I’ll be right back.”

My mother scoffed. “Just get on with it!”

“Try this on for size.” The wand he offered me looked like a unicorn’s horn. It’s grip melded into the rest of the wand as the roots of a tree. It was gorgeous carving work. It felt, right, in my hand. I waved it at a potted plant across the room. Three petals fell from the tallest flower, transfigured themselves into bird feathers, and fluttered the rest of the way to the ground. The wand maker smiled. “Hazel and Unicorn Hair. I thought that might do the trick.”

I beamed, clutching it to my chest. “Thank you sir!”

My mother’s lip curled, and I shrank back. “Unicorn hair?” She sniffed. “I always knew there was something wrong with you.” She paid the wandmaker and dragged me from the shop before the shopkeeper could say anything else. “You dishonor our family.” She continued. “I swear if you end up in one of those lesser houses…” She didn’t have to finish her sentence. I knew what she would do. She tutted. “I suppose you shall need a beast of some kind.”

I knew better than to smile. If I looked too excited, she would change her mind. She swept into the shop like summer storm. Unexpected and violent. Nearly all the animals startled. Two or three were unstirred, and in a corner behind the counter, a barn owl hissed as us hatefully. “That one. We’ll take that one.” My mother pointed at the menacing owl.

The shopkeeper looked incredulous. “Are you sure? He’s quite… feisty.”

“That’s exactly what my son needs.” My mother raised her chin in a challange.

The shopkeeper shrugged. “Alright, if you say so.” She gingerly grabbed the cage and passed it over the counter to me. The owl never stopped hissing the entire time. My mother passed her the money and hustled me and the bitter owl out of the shop. She checked her grip on my luggage, and promptly disapparated. I hated it when she did that. It always made me nauseous. But I didn’t dare complain. She piled all of my things onto a trolley and shoved me ahead of her as she walked me to the platform. I saw several students run at the pillar of stone to pass through it. I fell through after my mother threw me. I scrambled to my feet and barely managed to get out of the way when she came running through straight after me. She brushed past me as if I weren’t even there, and left my luggage with the staff. My mother then disappeared back through the pillar without saying goodbye. I wasn’t upset by that. She’d done what she believed was her duty. The rest was up to me. I boarded the train and took a seat in an empty booth. I waited for someone to come and sit with me. No one did. The ride to Hogwarts was lonely and uneventful.

 

When I arrived, I was led by an extremely large man to some small boats at the edge of the black lake. I had to share my boat with a young girl who went by the name Georgie Etheridge. When I introduced myself as Corvus Carrow, she withdrew to the far end of the boat and refused to talk to me anymore. I remained quiet for the rest of the trip to the great hall. I couldn’t help but stare at the wonders that surrounded me. Candles floated in the air, and the ceiling was not a ceiling at all but rather a tasteful reflection of the night sky. It was cheery, and warm. Quite alien to a person of my upbringing, so used scuttling around in the dark corners of the back alleys that others avoided. A sense of hope hung in the air like the silence after fresh fallen snow. Things could change here. I could have friends. A home. A family. 

An elderly woman stood before an owl shaped podium. “Now, when your name is called, step forward and sit on the stool. I shall place the sorting hat upon your head, and you will be sorted into your house.” I didn’t have to be told who she was everyone who was familiar with the Wizarding World knew who Minerva McGonagall was. I eagerly awaited my turn to be sorted. I knew my mother would beat me, but I half hoped that I would be placed in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor anyway. 

Finally, my name was called. “Corvus Carrow.”

A rush of whispers echoed through the hall, and I cringed. Well, there was no way I could use an alias now. The school had discovered my presence. I forced myself to take the steps toward Headmistress McGonagall. The crowd parted around me like they would around a snake or perhaps a large hornet. 

I sat down on the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on my head. “Slytherin!” It proclaimed for everyone to hear. My stomach sank so low I wasn’t even sure it was in my body anymore. I heard several “Boos” from the students. The Headmistress hurriedly shushed them, but the damage was already done. I slid down from my chair and slunk towards my new house’s table. When I sat down, no one greeted me. I picked at the wood grain with my fingernail and wished I could sink into the floor. When the food appeared, I had no interest in it. I forced myself to choke down a dinner roll at some point so I wouldn’t feel hungry later, but it was all I could stomach.

I didn’t look up from the floor when the Slytherin Prefect led all the first years from the hall. As a result, I ran into someone. “I’m sorry.” I mumbled to them.

“Sir.” The boy in front of me snapped.

“What?” I asked, confused. I finally raised my eyes from the floor to look at him. He was greasy, and his robes didn’t fit. He wasn’t any older than me.

“You’re sorry, Sir.”

I dropped my gaze again. “I’m sorry, Sir.”

The boy chuckled. He hadn’t expected such an easy submission. “Did I say sir? I meant, Sire.”

I didn’t want a fight. I acquiesced. “I’m sorry. Sire.”

The boy laughed again. “Hey, slave. I think there’s something on my boot. You should lick it off.”

“Excuse me?” Empty words were one thing, I could say whatever he wanted to hear. But I had no intention of licking anyone’s boots.

The boy shoved me. “You heard me! Now get busy!”

I had always been small. His shove was enough to knock me on my rear. Before I could stand up, a blurred figure surged past me and punched the greasy boy right in the nose. I heard a crunch, and the boy ran away bawling. A hand entered my field of vision. I flinched. It took me several moments to realize it wasn’t going to hit me. 

I took the hand, and was pulled to my feet. A lanky first year with blue hair stood before me. “Hi! You’re Corvus Carrow, right? I’m Teddy. Teddy Lupin.”

“Hi, thanks.”

Before I could say anything else, a professor’s voice roared, “Detention, Mr. Lupin!”


	2. I Meet S.A.S.S.

All in all, the Slytherin common room wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I’d heard it was in the dungeons, and the dim lighting of the room certainly reflected that. There was the muted sound of trickling water, and there had to be a window somewhere, because water-like reflections sparkled along the walls. Further light was provided by crystalline green lamps hanging from the ceiling. They were using some sort of expensive incense to cover the faint odor of mildew which pervaded the space.

I found the windows. They were tall, thin slots in the stone wall that were disturbingly reminiscent of prison bars. We were clearly under the Black Lake, but I couldn’t see any creatures. Just a dense forest of slimy kelp. I took a seat in one of the tufted chairs, and kicked off my shoes so I could pull my feet up beneath me.

The chair I’d chosen to sit in was part of a circle of chairs that had been arranged off to a corner of the room. Before I could think much as to why that was, a young woman with purple pigtails sat down next to me. Her eyes were a peculiar yellowish color, and she had dark skin. She was clearly proud of her house, as almost all of her clothing sported the Slytherin house colors. She had a polished prefect badge pinned to her sweater. This was the Head Girl. She extended her hand to me. I shook it.

“Holly Atwood. You must be the Carrow boy I heard about.”

“You’ve heard about me?” My voice was small. My mother would have scolded me for mumbling.

She smiled. “Everyone’s heard about you. That Edgar boy won’t shut up since your friend punched him in the nose.”

I dropped my gaze. “I don’t have friends.”

“Well, now you do.” Holly stated matter-of-factly. A few other first years and older students crept out of the woodworks and began taking the seats around us. “Welcome to Slytherins Against Stereotypes and Slurs. Or as we’re better known, S.A.S.S.” She adjusted her glasses. “It seems like you’ve already noticed, we Slytherins attract a lot of negative attention these days. Some of us are predisposed to looking down on others, and the other houses tend to cast us as the villain in their little small minded scripts.” She waved her hands about the now significant number of people gathered. “We’re here to join you in acknowledging the difficulties of life.”

Hot, sticky embarrassment clung to my lungs as it rose to rile the blood in my face. “I don’t need your help!” I snapped. I grabbed my shoes and vacated the circle. I heard Hazel whisper that I’d come around to the other Slytherins. Rather than counter her comment, I retreated to my bed and pulled the curtains closed around me for some privacy. I didn’t want to be anyone’s charity case. There was absolutely no reason for that girl to assume I couldn’t take care of myself. The more I thought about it, the more the shame seethed in my guts. I hated her. I hated that Lupin boy too. I wasn’t weak! I fought the tears welling up in my eyes and punched my pillow.

I thought about what my mother would say. “Do you want me to give you a reason to cry?” I sniffed and swallowed the lump in my throat. I was fine. I was untouchable. The moment of weakness I’d had was unforgivable. I should know better to hope for any kind of sympathy. Life was unfair. The world was a cruel and unforgiving place. I knew that. There was no use wasting tears over such common knowledge.

 

I woke up early the next morning. I got dressed and made my way to the great hall for breakfast. It was mostly empty, just a few excited first years and some of the more dedicated students milled about. No one seemed to be sticking to the tables normally assigned to their respective houses. Shyly, I made my way to the Gryffindor table and sat down at the far end. No one stopped me. There were no dirty looks, or any looks at all for that matter. No one seemed to notice me. I piled some food onto the plate before me, and started to eat. I was really hungry after nothing but a roll last night.

“Hey Carrow!” A voice blurted, surprisingly close to my ear. I startled and nearly choked on my food. When I turned, I recognized Teddy Lupin from the night before. But his hair was bright yellow this time. Not blonde, yellow. I realized it matched the Hufflepuff accents on his robes.

I composed myself and glared at him. “You don’t have to fight my fights for me. I can take care of myself.”

Teddy didn’t skip a beat. “Who said I was doing it for you? In my family that kind of talk isn’t tolerated. Why were you just letting him say that to you?”

“I didn’t want detention on my first day.” I said pointedly.

Teddy shrugged. “It’s not so bad. Why are you over here? You got friends in Gryffindor?”

Embarrassment colored my cheeks a nice shade of pink. “No.” I gathered up my plate and stood to leave.

Teddy caught my sleeve. “Hey! No one said you had to go.” He took my plate from me. “I’m not giving it back until you sit down.”

Grudgingly, I sat down, and he placed the plate before me. I wolfed down an entire fried egg. Teddy reached towards my head and I ducked his hand, shooting him a glower.

He withdrew. “I like your hat.”

I was wearing a green beanie. My mother had bought it for me. I’d wanted the hat, and she’d refused to buy it unless it was in Slytherin colors. I lived in this hat. It made me feel safe. “Thanks.”

“What’s your first class?” Teddy asked, producing his class schedule.

I dug my own schedule out of my back pocket to compare. “Charms. You?”

“Same!” Teddy crowed. “We can sit together.”

“I guess. Why though?”

“Why not?” Teddy countered. “Besides, my first cousin once removed knows your mother. That practically makes us family!”

I frowned and ran through a list of people I’d seen my mother interact with. They were all high standing pureblood slytherins. None I’d expect to tie themselves to this yellow haired freak. And His definition of family seemed far looser than anything I’d have considered family. His family must be much larger than mine. “If you’re making a joke, it’s not funny.”

“Joke?” Teddy rolled his eyes. “Draco Malfoy takes himself far too seriously to be a joke.”

“Draco Malfoy?” I asked incredulously. “ _You_ are related to Draco Malfoy?”

“That’s right.” Teddy confirmed. “And the Black Family. And The Potter Family, technically.”

I stared at him.

“You’re not the only one with famous parents around here, Carrow.”

The boy sitting next to me was a true enigma. Descended from some of the most famous slytherins in history, and yet, here he was. A bouncing, gap-toothed eleven year old hufflepuff. I couldn’t help but think something must have gone horribly wrong in his creation. Still… with a bloodline like that… perhaps my mother would like him. I narrowed my eyes. I was deluding myself again. Mother never liked anything.

Teddy stuck out his lower lip. “Come on Carrow. Throw me a bone here.” He flattened his schedule on the table. “I’ll make you a deal. If we have less than three classes together, I’ll leave you alone.”

I felt bad. I didn’t really want him to leave. But I knew better than to let him know that. I placed my schedule next to his. Teddy traced the lines with his fingertip. “Charms. Flying. Potions. Herbology. That’s four! Promise me you’ll sit with me in at least two of them, okay?”

I had to give him credit. He was extremely persistent. I agreed to his terms. I sat with him in Charms. The professor was teaching us the Wingardium Leviosa spell. There were some irritable grumbles when I got my feather to float after only a few tries. Despite his lack of success, Teddy congratulated me. My heart soared. So did the feather.

 

I stuck with him to our shared flying class. “Up!” I commanded my broom. It rolled defiantly on the ground. Teddy’s lept easily to his palm as if his hand was magnetic. It was my turn to congratulate him. I didn’t. When I thought no one was looking, I ducked down and snatched my broom off the ground. I think Teddy saw me. But he didn’t say anything. Teddy’s command of a broomstick was impressive for someone his age. “How are you so good at it?” I queried, genuinely curious.

“I was taught by the best.” Teddy said proudly.

I looked forward to seeing him on the Hufflepuff quidditch team in years to come.

  
I’d meant to part ways from him after that. Retain my Slytherin nobility and remain aloof. But my feet followed after him of their own accord. I was like a lost puppy caught in his wake. Before I knew it, I’d spent almost the entire day with Teddy Lupin. Before I knew it, we were friends.


	3. Teddy Explains "Pop Culture"

When I made my way into the great hall in the morning for breakfast, my eye was drawn to a flurry of movement at the Hufflepuff table. It was Teddy. He was bouncing up and down, waving both hands at me. I bit my lips to hide my smile as I made my way towards him. There were a few other Hufflepuffs sitting around him. As I sat down, not one of them questioned me or gave me odd looks. 

One, a curly haired girl, reached across the table. “Hi! Name’s Blue. Teddy’s told us a lot about you.” I hesitated, startled, then placed my hand in hers. She shook it vigorously. “So, what sort of things are you into?”

“Into?” I queried.

“Yeah, like music, films, books maybe?” Teddy explained.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I like studying, I guess.”

The other Hufflepuffs squinted at me. Teddy laughed. “But what do you do for fun?”

I hadn’t really thought about it before. I liked to write poetry sometimes, and I kept a journal. But I wasn’t about to tell them that. I tried to think of a cooler pastime. Something that would seem impressive. “I guess I’m decent at divination.” I regretted saying it immediately. Divination wasn’t cool.

No one said as much. “What do you use?” An older girl asked. “Crystal ball? Tea leaves? Palms?”

“Actually, I prefer tarot cards.” I said, reassured when no one teased me.

“What music do you listen to?” Teddy asked again. It must be something he was interested in.

“I… don’t really listen to music.” I answered honestly. My mother always said the noise disrupted her focus.

Teddy looked at me as if I’d just told him my bedroom was a tiny closet under the stairs. “You don’t listen to music? But, you’ve heard some, right? What about the Weird Sisters?”

“Who?” I asked, confused.

“Merlin’s beard.” Teddy reached into his pocket and drew something out. It was a tiny silver box wrapped in some kind of plastic stings.

He handed it to me. I squinted at it. “What’s this?”

“Right, pureblood upbringing.” Teddy took it back, and beckoned me closer.

“Hey, we’ve got to get going.” Blue said, gesturing to the older students sitting around. “We’re going to spend our Saturday in Hogsmeade. You boys want something from Honeydukes?”

Teddy beamed at her. “Thanks Blue, I’d love a Chocolate Frog.”

“Of course!” Blue nodded graciously. She looked at me. “And you?”

“Oh, I don’t need anything.” I waved a hand dismissively.

“Nonsense!” Blue argued. “You must have a favorite sweet. Anything at all?”

“I don’t really eat sweets.” It was true. I was lucky if I could sneak something from my mother’s stash once a month. I didn’t get them unless I managed to make her exceptionally proud, which was, of course, exceptionally difficult.

Teddy stared at me wide-eyed. “Merlin’s beard!” he exclaimed again. “Who raised you?”

“Oh, just an ex-death eater.” I replied in a sarcastic tone.

“Right. Sorry.” Teddy rubbed the back of his head. He thought for a moment. “Bring him some crystallized pineapple. He might like that.”

“Sure thing!” Blue smiled at me sympathetically. 

I glared. “Don’t look at me like that.”

My irritation broke against her like water on rocks. She simply shrugged. “See you boys later!” She strode off with the rest of the people who’d been sitting with us.

“Right! So.” Teddy drew my attention back to the tiny silver box. “I can’t believe you’ve never heard of the Weird Sisters.” He unwrapped the box from it’s strings. One end of the string, he stuck into a hole on the little box. I noticed that the string split into two part way up, and was ended in two little knobs.

He handed one to me, and put the other in his ear. I inspected it. Then, copied what I’d seen Teddy do and pressed it into my ear. Teddy pressed a button on the box, and a small screen lit up. He ran his thumb along a pad below the screen, and different line of text lit up on the screen. He pressed another button, and the strangest sound filled my ear. I pulled the cord out, inspected it, and then replaced it. Now, someone was singing.

Teddy looked at me expectantly. “Well? Do you like it?”

“Yeah!” I answered, a little more enthusiastically than I’d meant to. I took a moment to compose myself.

When the song was over, Teddy coiled up the cord, and replaced the item in his pocket. “Technically, I’m not supposed to have this here. Muggle technology and all that. If you promise not to tell, I’ll let you borrow it for tonight.”

I promptly agreed. Normally I was against rule breaking, I’d always found life was easier when you were on the adults’ good sides. But I was curious about this new object, Teddy had called it an iPod, and my curiosity outweighed my fear.

Teddy grabbed five slices of toast from the plate near us, and stood up. “Come on! My godfather told me something really cool about the Black Lake and I wanna test it out!”

I followed him out through the main hall and down to the edge the lake. Teddy took one of the pieces of toast, and threw it as hard as he could towards the center of the lake. Before the bread could hit the water’s surface, a fleshy tentacle rose out of the lake to catch the toast. Teddy laughed out loud. He passed me a piece of toast. “Here, you try!”

I tossed the piece of toast like a frisbee. It skipped across the surface of the water until another tentacle rose up to snag it. Teddy threw another piece. This went on until we ran out of toast.

“What is that?” I asked, amazed.

“A giant squid!” Teddy replied, my godfather told me that once, a first year fell out of one of the boats, and the squid caught him and put him back in. He also told me that it likes toast.”

 

Teddy and I spent several hours at the edge of the lake, discussing things that Teddy deemed, “Necessary for life.” He seemed upset that I’d never heard of Star Wars, but far more upset that I’d never actually been to a Quidditch game. “Quidditch is a legitimate part of the Wizarding World!” He’d said. “What excuse could you possibly have for not going to a game?”

“Mother doesn’t like crowded places.” I replied.

“Your mother,” Teddy scoffed, “Is a piece of work. You’ve never had decent sweets, you don’t know what music is, and you’ve never been to a Quidditch match? That’s just criminal.” He frowned, as if a thought had just occurred to him. “Hey, has she ever… hit you?”

“What?” I laughed a little too loud. “That’s ridiculous. Of course not!” I’d oversold it. I knew it. Teddy didn’t look convinced.

 

Shortly afterward, Blue had found us. She tossed Teddy his chocolate frog. She dropped a medium sized bag in my lap. When I looked inside, I found at least five different kinds of candy. “I don’t need all this.” I’d tried to refuse her offer.

“Of course you do. I expect a full report on your favorite by the end of the week, so that I can bring some to you each time I go.” She insisted.

“Sugar is unhealthy and rots teeth.” I argued. “I already have enough problems without that.” I shoved the bag back at her.

Blue hugged me, smashing my face into her ample bosom. “You’re such a sourpuss. It’s adorable.”

I struggled out of her grasp and scrambled backwards, my face bright red. “That was uncalled for!” I snapped.

Blue only laughed. “Remember! Full report by next Saturday!” She skipped off to meet with her friends.

“Blue’s the greatest.” Teddy said, smiling after her.

“Yeah? Well I don’t like her.” I countered, my face still tinted pink.

“You’ll come around.” Teddy shrugged. I was really starting to hate those words.

 

That evening, I reclined in my bed, the curtains pulled tightly closed again. I didn’t want to be disturbed. I took the iPod out of my pocket, and followed the instructions Teddy had given me on how to use it. I scrolled through the song list, and played anything that caught my eye. I quickly discovered that I loved the Weird Sisters. I wasn’t sure about Teddy’s collection of Journey and Queen, but I supposed that if I was in a different mood I might enjoy them. There were a few songs by someone called Adele that I didn’t mind.

Eventually I came across a folder labelled, “Corvus”. I hadn’t seen him do it, but Teddy must have hand picked these songs for me. I opened the folder, and started listening. There were several songs by a band called Evanescence, and several more by Breaking Benjamin. To my surprise, I really liked all of those. But my favorite of all of them, was a song called  _ The Sound of Silence _ . I replayed it five times. It was strange to me, none of these songs seemed like songs Teddy would like, but they were on the device. I wondered if it had belonged to someone else before him.

I set the whole list he’d made for me to replay again, and dragged the bag of candy Blue had brought me closer. I sorted through it. There was a chocolate frog like the one Teddy had received, and the crystallized pineapple he’d suggested for me. I also found Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. While the frog and the pineapple had been perfectly edible, these were disgusting. I had no idea why anyone would willingly subject themselves to this Russian roulette of a candy. I dug out some parchment and started taking notes. The Fizzing Whizbees were pleasant enough, though the floating caught me off guard. I fell asleep somewhere in the middle of floating, and was woken abruptly when I fell back onto my bed. I decided at that point that I’d had enough sugar for one night. I went back to sleep again to the fourteenth replay of  _ The Sound of Silence _ .


	4. Teddy Receives a Letter from Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I learn about the oddity that is Teddy Lupin's family, and he learns about the mess that is mine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise y'all! I bet you thought this would never be updated!

I approached the Hufflepuff table and dropped an entire scroll of parchment on the table in front of Blue. “The report you asked for.” I stated.

Blue raised an eyebrow and opened the scroll. She took a few minutes to read what I’d written. “Did you seriously write me an entire paper detailing your theories on Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yes? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Blue threw back her head and laughed. “Corvus I just wanted to know what your favorite was.”

“Oh.”

“And?” She leaned forward.

I thought about it while I chewed my lip. “The Fizzing Whizbees, I think.”

“Excellent.” Blue replied. “By the way, I’m keeping this.” She held up my scroll.

“Fine with me.” I stated.

Teddy was watching the air in anticipation. I thought it was odd. He looked more anxious than I'd ever seen him before. Owls swooped and dove around us, dropping off letters and packages among the students from their friends and family. I gave the air an apprehensive look, hoping my mother hadn't decided to write. My owl, Scathach, I'd taken to calling him, tended to take a piece of me as payment every time he delivered something. I relaxed. Last week he had dive bombed my head as he delivered a message from my mother, congratulating me on my house. I touched the fading scratches on my cheek.

A white shape surged down from the rafters and dropped onto the table before Teddy. She gracefully extended her leg so he could untie the box that had been fastened to it.

"A Snowy?" I commented. "She's lovely."

"She's my godfather's." Teddy commented distractedly. The owl lovingly nibbled at his ear, and he scratched her head. “Thanks, Love.”

I extended a hand, and when the owl didn’t hiss at me, gently stroked her. I wished my owl was like this. When I withdrew my hand, she took off and returned the way she’d come.

Teddy picked at the brown paper on his parcel. I watched curiously as he peeled it back to reveal a box of chocolate. He broke off a piece and ate it slowly, a wistful expression spreading across his face. I had questions, but if there was anything I learned growing up with my mother, it was how to read the room. Teddy was in his own world right now. He wouldn't appreciate disturbances.

Before I could think of what to do, Teddy answered the question I hadn't asked. “It’s the full moon tonight.”

I didn’t know what that meant. “Yes?” I raised my eyebrows and tried not to look like I was judging him. I wasn’t, of course. But it had been brought to my attention that I had “One of those faces” as it were.

He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was an old photograph, creased and torn at the edges. It looked like it had been in somebody’s pocket for many years. I inspected it. The picture was of a man and a woman, embracing. The woman had short, pink hair. The man looked weary and tired. He had several scars on his face. I passed the photo back to Teddy.

“My father, was a werewolf.” Teddy explained.

“Was?” I inquired.

“He and my mother were killed in the Battle for Hogwarts. The full moon always makes me wonder… if things had been different…”

My stomach rolled inward on itself. My family was the reason his was gone. I grabbed my plate and stood to move to a different seat. I refused to bother him any further with my presence.

Teddy wrapped a fist in the sleeve of my robe. “Don’t.”

I struggled to get free of him. “Let go.”

“Why?”

“Let go!” I yanked again at my sleeve.

“Sit down, Carrow. You’re eleven. You didn’t kill my parents.”

“I may as well have!” I snapped. “I’m probably from the same house, my father killed and tortured plenty of your friends,” I laughed humorlessly. “Your suffering is my family’s legacy!”

Teddy tugged my sleeve, and I sat down, weakened by my outburst. He set a chocolate on the desk in front of me, and smiled to himself. “Eat. You’ll feel better.”

 

After I’d eaten the chocolate, all I could think about what how loud I’d been when I’d said all that. The great hall was mostly empty this early, but there had been a few students, and I was certain a professor had heard me. The chocolate didn’t make me feel better. I bounced my knee anxiously and tried in vain not to think about it. I was unsuccessful. I was almost grateful when Peeves exploded into the room and started dropping stink bombs on everyone.

I stood with Teddy in the hall, laughing until we were out of breath. We made our way to our flying class early, and got to meet the team captains of all the houses. Teddy seemed thrilled as he discussed different maneuvers and tactics with the Hufflepuff captain. I was glad to see his mood improved. I didn’t much like my team captain, and since I didn’t intend to try out for Quidditch, I just hung back and hoped everyone would ignore me.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky. Edgar saw an opportunity to humiliate me, and he wasn’t going to pass it up. He approached me, a mocking sneer etched onto his face. “Hey, Carrow!”

“Not now Edgar.” I tried to ignore him. He grabbed my bookbag and dumped it’s contents into the wet grass. I curled my lip. “Put them back.”

“Or what? Are you gonna cry?” He looked down at the books there, and found plain looking leather bound journal. He picked it up. I tensed. “Oh look!” He waved it over his head. “I found the freak’s diary!” A few heads turned in our direction.

I tugged my wand out of my sleeve. Before any of the older students or the teacher could stop me, I flicked my wand at him. “Wingardium Leviosa.”

Edgar squawked as my journal was jerked from his hand and floated out of reach. I guided it back to my hand, wiped it off on my robes, and proceeded to gather my other books. I kept my eyes on Edgar the whole time, he was fuming, his face positively scarlet, but he didn't make a move to further torment me now that people were staring. Ouch. This would come back to bite me later.

Teddy appeared out of nowhere and slapped me on the back. “Nicely done! I would’ve just hit him!”

At the sight of Teddy, Edgar turned tail and actually  _ran_ the other way.

I winced. “That’s because you don’t appreciate the true potential of magic.” Teddy pouted at me, and I was disgusted by the amount of guilt it made me feel. “I just mean,” I went on, “That magic holds more use to those of us who are at a physical disadvantage.” I gestured at myself. I wasn’t a house elf, by any standards. But I wasn’t big, either. At least not big enough to be a threat to Edgar.

 

When we entered the greenhouses for Herbology, I took my place at the table I usually shared with Teddy, while he went ahead to greet Professor Longbottom, like he did everyday. As usual, the day wouldn’t be complete without a few idiotic first years giggling amongst themselves about the professor's name. I glared at the culprits, this time a pair of Gryffindors. They didn’t notice me. I couldn’t decide whether I was offended, or glad that no one seemed to notice me any more.

Before I could contemplate it further, Teddy sat down next to me. “So, Holidays are coming up soon. Are you going back to your house?”

“I hope not.” I blurted accidentally. I coughed and back-pedaled. “I mean, I hope so.”

Teddy narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re a weird kid, Corvus."  
  
I shrugged. "And you're not?"  
  
Teddy laughed. "I suppose that's true."

I grimaced as the plant in front of me spat foul smelling liquid in my direction. "So, what do you do on the holidays?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It's the biggest reunion ever!" Teddy exclaimed. "The Weasley and Potter families get together, and sometimes my first cousin even drops by. We have a giant quidditch match, and we eat so much sugary food, and everyone spends the whole evening opening the gifts they got from everyone else, and it's the best day of the year."

"If you had to pick a favorite part?" I pressed, wanting him to keep talking.  
  
"Probably seeing all my cousins and god-siblings."

The way he smiled when he said it made me wish I wasn't an only child. Maybe if I wouldn't have to face my mother alone if I did. I started as I realized I'd let myself be lost in thought while Teddy was still talking. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"  
  
"I asked about your family. What do you do for the holidays."  
  
Eesh. This is exactly what I didn't want to talk about. "Oh, uh." I stalled trying to make up a plausible lie. "Just, same as you, I guess. It's nothing crazy."  
  
Teddy gave me a concerned look. "Why do you do that?"  
  
"Do what?" I gave him my best attempt at an innocent expression.

"You always avoid the question when I ask about your family."

I pretended I hadn't heard him and quickly raised my hand to ask Professor Longbottom a question I already knew the answer to.

Teddy and I had separate classes after Herbology, which gave me much needed space away from him. I needed to come up with a story. Something Teddy would believe so he stopped asking questions.  _I could just tell him the truth._ The thought occurred to me. A large part of me wanted to. But... I was afraid. I didn't know what he would think of me. I didn't want him to think I was melodramatic, or attention seeking. And I didn't want to say horrible things about my mother when he had lost his. At least I had a mother.

When I pushed the door open, I was waved over to an empty seat by Holly Atwood. I sighed, but slid into the seat next to her.

As I was setting down my books, she glanced at me sidelong. "Nice of you to finally join us, Carrow."

"Corvus." I corrected her softly. "I don't really like my last name."

"Better find someone who'll give you theirs then, huh?" She elbowed me.

It took me a second to catch on to what she meant. My cheeks burned. "T-that's not how it works!" I protested.

"Says who?" countered Holly. "There's no rule that says you can't take your wife's name. It's just a tradition."

"Tradition is important!" I glared at her when I realized I'd just used one of my mother's favorite phrases. One of my least favorite phrases.

Holly shrugged. "Only to the uncreative."

"Hey!" I snapped. Ugh this girl irritated me so much. I was creative! I could prove it! I'd almost made up my mind to give her one of my poems, when I realized that was just more ammunition for her to use against me. I didn't need the entirety of Slytherin house to know I wrote poetry. She didn't press me and so I let the silence fall.

 

The rest of the day was uneventful. I didn't see Teddy again, which was odd. We usually sat together at dinner and spent the evening hanging out before we had to part ways and head to our separate house dormitories. I sat in bed that night trying to sleep, but I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong. I sighed. I hated feeling like this, but it just happened sometimes. Especially at night. I got out of bed and wandered down to the common room. Maybe the House Elves would make me some tea if I went to the kitchen and asked them. I put on some slippers, snuck out of the common room, and hoped that Filch wasn't wandering this part of the castle. We weren't supposed to be up, but I really wanted the ache in my chest to stop, and I didn't think it would if I couldn't find some way to calm down.

My heart skipped a beat as I saw a shape in the hall in front of me. Fearing I'd been caught, I sank into the shadows of the wall. As the figure drew closer, I realized it was too small to be one of the teachers, and too tall to be Flitwick. It had to be a student, and a young one at that. The torchlight caught and gleamed off of bright yellow hair.

"Teddy?" I spoke softly, more from surprise than actual intent to get his attention.

But I already had it. Teddy whirled and stared at me with startled gold eyes. I shrank back into the wall. I didn't remember Teddy's eyes being that color. Wait, hadn't he said something about his father being a werewolf? I slid down the wall and pulled my knees up to protect myself.

Teddy blinked rapidly, and steadily, his eyes shifted back to the grey-blue I remembered. He yawned and stretched, then surveyed his surroundings as if they confused him. A few moments more, and he noticed me, huddled into the corner like a frightened child. "Corvus? What are you doing down there?" Before I could answer, he continued. "No, I have a better question. What are we doing out here?"


End file.
